Durban - DECEPTIVE and get rich quick schemes, advertised on social media, are hoodwinking unsuspecting people into buying South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) cards.
Sassa cards are currently issued free of charge at the South African Post Office only for beneficiaries who have misplaced or lost their cards.
Any beneficiaries who applied for a grant after September 2020 were advised to open bank accounts where their funds would be transferred into.
A search on Facebook revealed several sites where fake profiles were created to sell Sassa cards.
On Monday, a Facebook page called Sassa cards for sale, posted: “Morning good people. May god protect you from all the things happening. Sassa cards still available. We're only left with pension cards. Price 1 card = R800 (deposit R300). 5 cards = deposit R500. 10 cards = deposit R1000. Box (150) = deposit R2500. You pay the deposit upfront then we deliver and withdraw with you then you pay the balance. For more information Inbox us or Whatsapp us.”
Another Facebook page called Sassa and credit cards for sale, claimed to have a special offer for pension cards. “Get two cards with a deposit of R400. Get 5 cards with a deposit of R800. Get one card with a deposit of R200. The card(s) will be delivered to you in hand after you have deposited and it'll arrive with the money already in it. Don't be left out.”
A page called Getting SASSA Blank Cards posted that they were selling Sassa cards that were worth R1 500 and it has R1 950 per month.
Sassa spokesperson Sandy Godlwana said they were working around the clock to ensure the fraudsters were brought to book.
“We are inundated by a wide range of messages purporting to be from Sassa circulating on social media with the sole intention of deceiving the public even though the number provided on the Facebook post is unreachable,” she said.
Godlwana said Sassa continuously sends messages and raises awareness on such matters using stakeholder engagements, e-mails, and media campaigns to share information with their clients and while clients were waiting at their offices for social grants services. Information that does not come from Sassa is fake news.
“As Sassa, we subscribe to a zero tolerance approach pertaining to fraud and corruption. The public must not be tempted to buy these cards as they are useless and deactivated,” Godlwana said.
In June 2020, two men were arrested in Amanzimtoti for being in possession of 16 Sassa cards. They were each granted R10 000 bail.
In August 2020, a woman was nabbed with 47 Sassa cards. She was granted R10 000 bail.
In October 2020, a policewoman from Inanda police station was caught with 49 Sassa cards. She was granted R10 000 bail.
They were charged with being in possession of Sassa cards unlawfully and for being in contravention of the National Credit Act.
Report Sassa fraud matters to 0800 701 701 or the KZN Sassa call centre: 033 846 3400.
Daily News